Naruto - A new adventure
by Exodius
Summary: After Naruto is beaten almost to death he learns of his burden and begins training with Kakashi in order to protect himself. He soon learns of his heritage and begins training to use his clans bloodline and his Father's famous technique.
1. Prologue

It was a quiet day in the Village Hidden in the Trees, the normal activity seemed to have died down on this particular day and the area seemed to have a tense atmosphere around it. Today was the 7th anniversary of the day that the Nine Tailed Fox demon, Kyuubi, attacked the village causing mass chaos and death. On that day, the villages leader, the Hokage, sacrificed his life by sealing the great best into an infant, Naruto Uzumaki.

The citizens of the village, blinded by their hate of the great demon, for the following 7 years used Naruto as a scapegoat for their pain and loss. The villagers could not tell the difference between the jailed and the jailer. Ever since an infant, Naruto would be treated horribly and would, on a regular basis, be beaten up and chased through the streets of the village. Naruto only had one real friend, the third Hokage.

Even though he was the leader of the village, there was only so much that the Hokage could do for Naruto. One man against the whole of a village did not have that much power. The Hokage had sent Naruto to live at an orphanage but even here, a place designed to look after and care for children, cruelly mistreated Naruto because of the demon. Throughout all of this the child had no idea as to why he was hated to such a harsh degree. The Hokage had decreed that no one was to tell Naruto of his predicament, those that broke this rule would face death.

Later that day, the village prepared to celebrate the 7th anniversary of the defeat of the beast and to remember the death of their fallen leader. Many former ninja veterans and civilians who had lost family members were heavily drinking in an attempt to drown their sorrows away. This led to a mass group of villagers charging through the village all chasing after Naruto the boy they thought was the human reincarnation of the demon spirit.

Naruto was slowly cornered into a small one way alley way. Chants of "Kill the demon boy now" and "Quickly, do something to him before the Hokage gets here!" could be heard streets away from the scene. One ninja, a Jōnin, had taken this opportunity of Naruto's weakness and pinned him up against a way and started to punch him repeatedly without stopping whatsoever. Many shouted for harsher treatment and other people started to join in with the attack. Ninjas started to throw Kunai and Shurikin at the boy whilst the civilians through rocks and other heavy objects they could find around them.

Naruto throughout all of this screamed in agony and begged them to stop. He pleaded with them and cried out "What is it I have done to you?!" which only made the villagers even more angry with the boy. Naruto had by now fallen out of consciousness and was waiting for the end to come. All was thought to be over, when suddenly a group of Anbu, the villages highest ranked group of ninja, appeared with kunai behind each of the civilians and ninjas. Behind the group of ninja was the third great Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. "Anbu, take them to Ibiki for interrogation and torture." said the Hokage with authority laced in his voice.

He walked over to Naruto, still unconscious, and picked him up with both arms. Sarutobi, the third Hokage, whispered to Naruto in a more caring and affectionate manner "Come now Naruto, you will be staying with me tonight".


	2. Training begins

Naruto woke up and instantly didn't recognise where he was. "This isn't the orphanage" he thought. "Ah Naruto my boy, I see you are finally awake". Naruto jolted his head around and was greeted with the sight of Sarutobi smiling down on him. "Hey old man, why am I here? Where am I?" asked Naruto, with a worried expression on his face.

"Unfortunately Naruto, last night you were attacked again." spoke Sarutobi with an almost pained expression. Naruto looked down and put his head into his hands. "Please... Just please, tell me why they hate me. Tell me why they beat me.". Sarutobi looked lost for words, he hadn't expected Naruto to ask him that. For the last 3-4 years Naruto had never shown any interest into why he was ever beaten up and attacked. Sarutobi decided that it would not be the best idea to lie to the child. Sarutobi took a breath.

"Naruto.. As you very well know, 7 years ago the Great Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, Kyuubi, attacked the Village. Many lives were lost, but our great leader the fourth Hokage was able to defeat the demon and kill it. However, that story is not completely true. You see, my boy, he did not kill it per say. Instead, he sealed the great beast within a small boy. Do you have any idea who that boy might be?" Sarutobi asked. "So, it's me.. I'm the demon they always talk about. Maybe they're right, maybe I don't deserve to live.". "Naruto!" Sarutobi shouted. "Don't ever talk foolish nonsense like that again! You are the hero of the village, you are holding that great beast back. Only someone with a golden heart like yours could manage that. You are no demon, you are a saviour" Sarutobi explained to the young boy still with an unhappy and pained expression.

Naruto glanced up, unsure whether to believe the old man or not. Thoughts were rushing through Naruto's head, he had no idea how he was really supposed to react to the news that he had just been given. Though, through it all it showed that the old man really did care about him and that he wasn't going to treat Naruto badly like the others did. Naruto managed to whisper out "Thank you". Sarutobi's eyebrow raised in confusion, "For what?" he asked in response. Naruto paused for a moment, "For always being there for me when no one else was".

Naruto jumped up and embraced the old man in a hug. Sarutobi at first was unsure how to react, but after a few moments returned the hug. Sarutobi could hear the muffled sound of sniffing and crying in his chest that Naruto had burrowed his head into. He smiled but frowned when his thoughts turned to Minato, the fourth Hokage. He knew that Minato would be extremely disappointed in the village if he knew that Naruto had been treated like this when Minato had envisioned him to be treated like the villages hero and not the bane.

Naruto finally released the old man from the hug. Sarutobi seemed to ponder for a few seconds when he finally focused his attention on Naruto and asked "Naruto, how would you like me to teach you some ninja techniques for defending yourself against these attacks? It's the least I can do for you.". Naruto immediately started jumping up and down with joy and shouted his approval at learning the ninja techniques. It was no secret in the village that Naruto had plans on becoming the next Hokage and he regularly boasted to people how amazing he was going to be. He would tell others that he would surpass the old man and even the fourth Hokage, arguably the best and most skilled Hokage of all time.

Sarutobi still didn't think this was enough to help Naruto at the moment. "Tell you what Naruto, how about we get you out of that awful orphanage and get you into your own apartment?". Naruto looked up excitedly but with curiosity. He looked up to the old man and said "Well.. I'd love to have my own place, but I can't afford it. I don't have any money." Sarutobi smiled. "I'm sure we can solve that. I will pay for your apartment and will give you money each month to pay for food, clothes and other expenses that you might need to pay for." he said. Naruto smiled ear to ear and thanked Sarutobi for his kindness. Of course, the old man was more than happy to help out his friends son anyway possible.

After talking for a little bit more the Hokage asked Naruto to follow him to the Hokage tower, the base of command and operations in the village.

Sarutobi was an old man by any standards. He had short white hair that had started to retreat and a pointed beard, almost making a triangle shape. His worn face showed his many years being a military leader, his dark brown eyes had seen battle. Despite all of this, the old leader had such a loving and affectionate side to him. He treated Naruto with the utmost love, kindness and compassion possible. Naruto to Sarutobi was almost like a grandchild, he was treated like family.

Whilst walking through the streets, with Sarutobi, Naruto was still glared at with the usual dark stares and whispers of "demon" and "monster" could be heard. However, this immediately stopped when Sarutobi let off some killer intent to the surrounding people. Those who were not ninja found themselves collapsing to the group unable to breathe for a few seconds, even some of the ninja looked distressed. Naruto unsure as to why people were starting to collapse looked up to the old man. Sarutobi just winked at Naruto, as to let him know that it had been him responsible for the villagers predicament. Naruto smirked, he really did love the old man.

After a few more minutes the pair finally arrived at the doors of the large Hokage Tower. Sarutobi ushered for Naruto to go forward and walk through the doors. The regular staff in the Hokage Tower were all personally picked by the Hokage himself, so most of them held no hatred for the Naruto boy and some of them even greeted Naruto with a friendly smile. Naruto wasn't sure why people were being so kind to him here, no one had spoken to him yet but the smiles spoke volume in itself. Sarutobi was the only person who had ever really been kind to him so it was a nice change to see people treating him with respect.

Naruto wandered through the Hokage building following Sarutobi innocently up to his office. Once inside the office the Hokage ushered Naruto to take a seat in front of his desk. All was silent for a few moments while the aging Hokage prepared his pipe to smoke. Naruto sat nervously on the chair, fidgeting with his hands. The Hokage opened his mouth, "So Naruto, here's what we're going to do..." the next half an hour was used up by the old Hokage explaining to Naruto when they would be training, where they would be training, what they would be training.

The training schedule was vigorous, Naruto would have to wake up each morning at 5, get to the training grounds at 5:30 and would then train nonstop until 9:30. Training would include laps around the village, lifting weights and other physical activities. These were all in preparation to get Naruto ready for the real training, when he was to learn ninjutsu.


	3. A new instructor

A month had passes since Naruto had started the intensive training with Sarutobi. Not only had Naruto started to train physically but he had also completely changed his diet on recommendation from the Hokage. At first, getting Naruto to ditch his ramen habit was a bit problem but after a week it turned out that Naruto actually enjoyed the more healthy food. Ramen was now just a treat for the young boy. The combination of exercise and a proper diet had drastically transformed Naruto from an underweight malnourished seven year old to a healthy, averaged weight boy. However, the years of unhealthy eating and laziness had made a lasting effect and it would take a lot more training to get Naruto to his peak physical form for his age.

Even though Naruto was not yet at this peak physical form, Sarutobi decided that it was time to introduce ninjutsu into the training regime.

Now, even though Naruto was like a grandson to the Hokage, the Hokage could not be seen to be treating Naruto as a favourite professionally. He decided that he would be unable to train Naruto in the art of ninjutsu himself, so instead he decided to arrange to have a senior Anbu captain to come out of the Anbu and personally train Naruto himself. Sarutobi pondered to himself for a few moments, asking himself who he could assign to Naruto. Finally, like a light switch had been turned on he thought of the name Kakashi. Of course, this would be perfect choice for Naruto. Immediately he summoned for Kakashi to be called to his office.

Located in a secret part of the village, Kakashi was sat with other Anbu friends in the Anbu headquarters. Kakashi was minding his own business when suddenly an official Anbu appeared next to Kakashi, "Kakashi, the Hokage has requested for your attendance immediately. Please follow me." spoke the Anbu member, his voice bore no emotion it was laced with authority. Kakashi nodded to the Anbu member and they both disappeared from the room, minutes later Kakashi reappeared in the Hokages office.

Kakashi looked forward to see the Hokage with a relaxed expression smoking his pipe. Kakashi waited for the Hokage to tell him why he had been called to the office. "So Kakashi, I expect you are wondering why I have called you here." said the Hokage, with a small smile on his face. Kakashi nodded in response, "Yes Hokage-Sama" he replied. "Kakashi, I have asked you here to request that you train young Naruto Uzumaki in the art of ninjutsu. He has already completed a month of physical training with me to prepare himself." Kakashi was in shock, he assumed the Hokage was going to send him off on another mission not ask him to train someone, let alone Naruto. "But Hokage-Sama, I am in Anbu. I don't think I have time to train the boy." replied Kakashi, still with a confused expression.

The Hokage paused for a few moments. "I have already thought about this Kakashi and I have decided that it is about time that I relinquish you from your Anbu responsibilities. You will become a standard Jonin and will train Naruto. Is that understood?" asked the Hokage. Kakashi nodded in response to the Hokages question. "You are to meet Naruto in training ground 8 tomorrow morning at 4:30. You are dismissed" the Hokage informed Kakashi. Kakashi nodded and bid the Hokage his farewell.

Whilst walking back from the Hokage Tower to his house Kakashi's head was full of questions and thoughts. Never in a million years had he expected to be pulled from Anbu at this age, he was one of the best, if not the best, Anbu captains there was. Regardless, he knew there was no way that he could convince the Hokage otherwise. Dwelling on the situation for a few more moments, Kakashi decided that it might actually be quite a fun experience to train the child. Besides, it would be paying his old Sensei a favour. Something that Kakashi knew was only right.

A few hours earlier Naruto had been sent a telegram from the Hokage. It instructed Naruto to be at training ground 8 at the usual time of 4:30 to meet his new sensei. Naruto had been told that this new sensei would be teaching Naruto the art of ninjutsu. When Naruto had heard this he had been overjoyed, it was always his dream to become a ninja and even one day become a Hokage, even surpassing the great Forth Hokage. This was for Naruto, the start of a journey. A journey that would take him to foreign lands and beyond. Naruto simply couldn't wait for the next day, he set out to make sure all of his equipment was ready and in order for tomorrow so he could leave promptly.

A day had passed and it was now 4 o'clock in the morning. Naruto had woken up, showered, got changed and gathered his equipment. He then began to walk towards the training grounds, Naruto arrived there exactly on time at 4:30. The training ground was fairly basic, it consisted of a large field with a stream running through it. On either sides grew large trees and on one side stood 3 stumps of food sticking up from the ground, Naruto had no idea why these were here. He assumed that they might be for setting up targets, but there purpose wasn't important. He glanced around the training ground looking for his sensei but couldn't find him anywhere.

Naruto decided to start to train while he waited for his sensei to turn up. Naruto decided to build up his stamina by running laps around the training ground repeatedly. It had been an hour when Naruto stopped running and decided that his sensei wasn't probably going to turn up. Naruto was about to leave the training ground and head to the Hokage to ask where his sensei was when he suddenly saw a figure approaching him. From what he could see, the figure was fairly tall and had long silver hair. He also, oddly, had a mask covering his face and his ninja headband was covering one of his eyes.

Naruto didn't know what to make of character by just his appearance so he waited until he got close enough.

The man was now only just a meter away, Naruto greeted him "Hi there. Are you my new sensei?" he asked. The man seemed to smile, despite not being able to see his mouth the way his eye moved upwards seemed to give off a smile. "Hi there Naruto, I'm Kakashi and yes I am your new sensei" Kakashi informed Naruto. "Wait your Kakashi?! I've read so much about you, is it true you know over a thousand jutsu?!" Naruto asked in an excited manner. Kakashi chuckled, "It isn't about how many jutsu you now Naruto, it's about how you use them." Kakashi told Naruto.

Naruto nodded in agreement.

"So Naruto, let's start with the basics shall we." said Kakashi. Kakashi spent the next hour explaining to Naruto the basics of Chakra, what it was and how it works. They started off by practising basic chakra control. They continued the rest of the training period by continuing to train Naruto's chakra control. During this training, Naruto also started to talk to Kakashi about his experiences as a ninja. It was quite odd, they had only just met several hours ago and Kakashi had already found himself telling Naruto about missions he had hardly ever told anyone about. He felt a connection with the boy, like the connection he had with his old sensei. Kakashi had an idea why that connection might be there though, it was obvious if he thought about it.

After the training session was over, Kakashi gave Naruto various scrolls he had in his back pocket and told Naruto that he was to read these every night and increase his knowledge in ninjutsu. Naruto bid farewell to his new sensei and returned home. Once inside his house, the first thing Naruto did was open up the scroll and start to read. He continued to read for the next 3 hours. Naruto's determination to become the best was showing through already at this early age.

The adventure had started.


	4. Shadow Clone Jutsu and its secrets

It had been a few weeks since Naruto had started his training with Kakashi and things were going well for the yellow haired teen. Naruto, every night for 2 hours, would read and re-read the scrolls that Kakashi had given him until he knew their contents of by heart. For his age, Naruto had an amazing knowledge of the ins and outs of ninjutsu and chakra. Naruto could now access his chakra effectively and had even learnt to control it to a certain degree. He would practise chakra control with Kakashi by focusing chakra to his feet and running up a tree, kunai in hand. He would mark with the kunai how high up on the tree he managed to get to. His aim would always be to get further than last time until he finally got as high as the top of the tree.

It took Naruto a few weeks to finally get to the top of the tree, but once he had made it it meant that he could finally use basic jutsus.

It was midday, Naruto and Kakashi had met up for their training session. A few weeks after they started training, Kakashi decided that they should up the training for Naruto to get the most out of his tutelage. "Naruto, I have decided that it's time for you to learn your first jutsu." Kakashi told Naruto. Naruto gleamed with joy, this was his first jutsu that he was going to learn. Naruto was hoping that it was a powerful jutsu, perhaps one that could level a village or something of that nature. Instead, Kakashi told Naruto he was going to learn a clone jutsu. "What?! A clone jutsu that's lame Kakashi-Sensei!" whined Naruto. Kakashi eye smiled. "Naruto, the shadow clone jutsu isn't just any old clone jutsu. The amazing thing about this jutsu is that you remember and retain memories and skills from the clone when it dispels. This means you could have 5 different clones all working on different jutsu" explained Kakashi.

Naruto looked absoloutely amazed. "So... you mean to say that I could learn 6 different jutsu at the same time?" asked Naruto, still looking completely dumbfounded. Kakashi smiled and gave Naruto a small nod. "That's awesome. Well what are we waiting for, let's start!" shouted Naruto. Kakashi chuckled at Naruto's enthusiasm. Kakashi then began to walk Naruto through the handseal required to use the jutsu.

Naruto's first attempts were terrible. Most times he wouldn't get a clone to appear at all, and if he did manage to they usually turned out to be completely wrong. The clones would be pale and normally looked distorted from the original copy. Though, in the end Naruto was able to create an exact replica after trying for another couple of hours. Kakashi started to clap when Naruto finally created the clone.

A few moments after the clone was created Naruto collapsed to his knees and fell unconscious. Kakashi quickly leaped over from the tree branch he was sat on and scooped Naruto into his arms. "He's fallen unconscious from chakra exhaustion.. Well, I guess that's enough for today. Time to take you home Naruto." thought Kakashi. Kakashi was really proud of the kid, he hadn't stopped trying until he finally got it right. Yet again, it reminded him of his old sensei. He was really starting to see the similarities and couldn't help but smile. With Naruto in his arms, he jumped away and ran into the village to Naruto's home.

Naruto's apartment was located in the ninja section of the village. Naruto's apartment was part of a big complex of buildings all in one row, most of them looked to be in quite good condition. This was not the case for Naruto's, his wooden door had dark scorch marks on it and the pain had started to peel off already. This was testament to the hate Naruto received, he had only been living in the apartment for a few months and people had already started to attack the building. Whether that be using fire jutsus at the door or throwing stuff at the walls. Even some windows seemed to be damaged. The window on the side of the building had spider webbed, someone must have thrown something at it, maybe a kunai.

It really upset Kakashi to see the extent of the hate that the village held towards Naruto. The fourth Hokage had intended Naruto to be treated as the hero of the village, the boy that protected the village against the great demon but instead he was treated as the bane of the village. Too many of the villagers were too blinded by their loss that they couldn't realise what was staring them straight in the face: Naruto's innocence. Kakashi knew that one person in particular would be disgusted at this, Naruto's father.

Kakashi realised he had been standing outside Naruto's apartment for a few minutes now and decided that it was time to take him inside. Kakashi strutted up the wooden steps that led to Narutos apartment door, he tried to push on it to open but it would not. Deciding not to cause anymore damage to the apartment Kakashi decided it would be best to enter the apartment through the window. Once inside the apartment Kakashi immediately laid Naruto down on the small bed.

Looking around, Kakashi was surprised how neat and tidy the interior of the apartment was. It was completely different to the outside of the building, inside represented order and the outside represented chaos. It was incredible to see a seven year old boy keep some place so tidy without failure. Though in some ways it did make sense, Naruto was very proud of his apartment, it was one of the first things that Naruto actually owned. It made sense that Naruto wanted to keep it in such a good state.

Kakashi looked down at Naruto and smiled. The kid had gone a long way in a short amount of time. Kakashi was looking forward to continuing with his training with the kid. With one last glance Kakashi jumped out of the window and returned to his daily activities.


	5. First day at the Academy

**Author's notes: After looking at the statistics of this I have noticed that I have quite a few readers but not many reviews, therefore I have decided that I will only post a new chapter once I have two new reviews for each chapter. Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

For the next 4 years Naruto would train with Kakashi every day, apart from the days when Kakashi was assigned with another more important. When this happened Naruto usually just decided to improve and master previous jutsu that he had learned from Kakashi. Naruto was by no means the most powerful ninja in the village yet, in fact he wasn't even a ninja at all yet. But that would soon change, because at the age of 11 you are allowed to join the Academy. The Academy is where you are sent as children, if you want, to learn the ninja art and become a Genin, the lowest rank of ninja.

However, what you learn in the Academy these days was mostly historical. The only jutsu that you use is the basic clone jutsu and the transformation. Both, were very basic and can't help you in any real battle situation. But regardless, you still had to know one of these to pass the graduation exam and become a ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Kakashi knew Naruto would be prepared in time for the exams.

**TIME SKIP: 4 YEARS**

It was now four years since Naruto had started his training with Kakashi, he was now 11. Naruto had changed dramatically in the space of 4 years, no longer was he skinny with no muscle now he was above the average size - not with fat, but with muscle. Under Kakashis careful teaching Naruto was now a well developed kid, Kakashi predicted that Naruto was already around the level of a Chunnin - unfortunately Naruto would still have to progress up the same route as the others despite his skill. He would have to attend the academy, pass the exam to become a genin and then pass the chunnin exam to finally become a chunnin ranked ninja.

Ever since Naruto learned the Shadow Clone jutsu his training increased tenfold, he could now learn jutsu much faster than usual. Naruto now new around 60 jutsu in total. While this was nothing in comparison to Kakashis jutsu arsenal, but considering Naruto wasn't even officially a ninja yet, this was a pretty good start.

During the last four years Naruto had grown extremely close to Kakashi and they now had an almost father-son relationship. When they trained it was strictly business but Kakashi would often treat Naruto to food after they trained, even occasionally some ramen if Naruto had trained particularly hard - Kakashi said it didn't matter if he had this once in a while. Kakashi would do anything for Naruto and vice-versa, they now had an inseparable bond: one that isn't found that often.

It was a bright Monday morning and Naruto had awoken up at 6AM. The sound of birds from outside could be heard, their squawks resonated through the walls. When Naruto had first moved into his apartment it had always bugged him, in the orphanage there were never any birds around - mostly because the orphanage was based in a poor area of the village where no bird would want to fly. Luckily for Naruto it had only taken him a few months to get used to the noise, in fact Naruto now found it quite pleasant to hear the noise of a bird chirping in the morning - it would always put him in a more positive mood for the day.

Immediately Naruto sprang out of bed and rushed into the shower, 10 minutes later he emerged dripping wet. It took Naruto another 10 minutes to get changed and ready as well as finding the equipment he would need to bring to the academy. Naruto finished his morning rituals by finally eating breakfast, this morning he had a slice of bread, a banana and a glass of water. This was going to be enough to get him through a morning of boring class work.

Right before Naruto was about to leave his apartment he quickly glanced at the mirror. Naruto had changed a lot in the past four years and not just mentally, his physical appearance had changed dramatically. He was no longer the short scrawny blonde haired kid, he had now matured into a fairly tall, for his age, mature looking eleven year old. His face had lost some of its baby fat but was still a little chubby on his cheeks that still sported the three whisker marks. Training with Kakashi had meant that Naruto had become a lot more physically fit, he by no means had muscles like a body-builder but for his age it was pretty impressive. Naruto smirked, it was nice to see that his hard efforts had actually paid off to some extent.

Naruto then left his apartment and started the short walk to the Academy. As Naruto walked through the streets he got the usual stares of disgust, this was something that Naruto had learnt to deal with. Whilst he still got the stares no one dared attack him after he had started being trained by Kakashi, people either feared Kakashi attacking them if they tried anything or even Naruto retaliating. Naruto grinned on the inside, he was no longer the petrified defenceless boy he had once be, he was now strong and not to be trifled with. However it still made Naruto sad that he had to put up with this, he had long ago realized that he was not the demon but, of course, the village was too stupid to ever realize this fact.

Naruto could see the Academy building directly ahead of him, he saw many parents standing with their children. This made Naruto a little sad, he had always wished that his parents could see him today: the day he joined the academy. In any ninja's life this was a pretty big event. This, for many, was the start of their ninja career.

"Ah, there you are" Naruto turned round to see Kakashi, he looked up and smiled. "Hey Kakashi, why are you here?" asked Naruto, not that he wasn't happy to see Kakashi. Kakashi gave a small chuckle, "It's your first day of the Academy Naruto, of course I'm going to be here to see that" Kakashi hadn't realised it at the time but this actually impacted Naruto greatly, though Naruto had been spending time with Kakashi for the past four years whenever Kakashi said things like that it brought Naruto great happiness and acknowledgment.

"So, you looking forward to your first day then Naruto?" questioned Kakashi. Naruto took a moment to answer, "Well I suppose it will be nice to meet new people and all of that, but I expect their parents will have made up lies about me and will have told their children to stay away from me.. But we'll see, I guess." "I wouldn't be so sure Naruto, while many of the civilians may hold a grudge against you there are still some older ninja that do have respect for you just like I do." Kakashi told Naruto. Upon hearing this Naruto seemed to perk up a little, he smiled at Kakashi and said "Thanks Kakashi, I appreciate it."

The conversation was cut short when the Academy instructor for their year, Iruka Umino, walked outside of the Academy building and called for everyone's attention. "Ladies, Gentlemen and Academy Students welcome to the Ninja Academy. I am your instructor, Iruka Umino. During the next three years we are going to be training you to be strong powerful ninja of this village. Now please may you say your goodbyes and enter the academy building" Iruka informed everyone. Many of the parents said their goodbyes to their children and waved them off as they followed Iruka into the building. Naruto turned to Kakashi to say goodbye but before he could say anything Kakashi spoke "Naruto, the other children here won't be anywhere near the same level as you so it will be best to tone down on some of your skill.. By no means act like a dead last but don't reveal all of your strengths. You understand?" Naruto nodded his head up and down. Kakashi beamed down at him "Now, go and have fun! I'll see you soon for our training, okay?" "Yeah, sure Kakashi" replied Naruto. With that they both said their goodbyes and Naruto entered the building beginning his first day as an Academy student.


	6. Friends and training

**Author Notes: Unfortunately I couldn't stick to my word and am posting this straight away, damn bad habits! Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

Naruto had now been at the Ninja Academy for the last four months and thinks had been slow. Many of the lessons covered the more theoretical side to being a ninja like the history of villages, something that Naruto found boring to no end. They had yet to be taught any of the four Jutsus that Academy Students were to be taught but Naruto didn't really mind seeing as Kakashi had already taught him the majority of them. Though some of the four months had gone to good use, like Kakashi had said Naruto had made some new friends.

Kiba Inuzuka was the son of the current Inuzuka clan head and carried the characteristics of an arrogant brash typical boy, but surprisingly Naruto did hold a bit of a soft spot for the idiot. Kiba viewed Naruto as his rival and whilst, in reality, Naruto didn't really view Kiba as the same he went along with the act per say. At first Naruto became frustrated by Kiba's personality but it didn't take too long for the two to warm to each other when they were sat next to each other. It turned out Kiba also had a bit of a prankster in him too, that sealed their friendship.

Though no one had any idea this was Naruto's first actual friend of his own same age, the only friends he really had at the moment were The Hokage, Kakashi and his friends and the Ramen stand owners. Naruto didn't muse over this for long though, he decided it was best to just go with the flow and let whatever is supposed to be happen and so far it was working out pretty well for him.

He had also made acquaintances with a few other people in his class and whilst he wouldn't exactly call them proper friends he did get along with them fairly well and they didn't hate him, so that was a plus side. These acquaintances were Shikamaru of the Nara clan, Chōji of the Akimichi clan, Hinata of the Hyuga and Shino of the Aburame clan. Out of these four new acquaintances Naruto could see that they all had completely different personalities, Shikamaru was clearly the stratageist and always thought before he spoke or acted, Chōji relied a lot on his strength and weight to win confrontations, Hinata was completely quiet hardly every saying a word acting as more of an observer and finally Shino: Shino was very quiet and spoke extremely blunt and straight to the point, he never rushed into something.

Class had just ended for the day and Naruto was seeing slowly walking out of the Academy building when suddenly he heard voices behind him shouting for him to stop. Naruto turned around and was greeted by the faces of Kiba, Chōji and Shikamaru who were all trying to catch up their breath after running after Naruto, especially Chōji. "Hey guys, what'd ya need?" questioned Naruto with an inquisitive look adorning his face. Kiba held his hand behind his head and ruffled his own hair and with a foolish chuckle asked "Well we were just wondering if you wanted to catch something to eat with us? We were all thinking of heading out for some BBQ." Naruto chuckled at Kiba's actions but quickly agreed to come along, it would be nice to get to know Chōji and Shikamaru better. "Great! Let's go" Kiba replied to Naruto happy that he was coming, he had originally thought that he would turn it down for training.

The walk to the BBQ restaurant was fairly uneventful apart from the usual stares of hate and disgust from the villagers but none of Naruto's party seemed to notice them and Naruto had learnt to just block them out all together. So for the next 10 minutes most of the conversation was just small talk on what they had been learning at the Academy, the Sensei that they disliked the most - that sort of stuff. School boy conversation, nothing different.

Once they arrived at the restaurant they got a table, sat down and ordered food. When the food arrived the topic of conversation turned to Naruto. "So Naruto, how come I never really saw you when we were children?" asked Chōji whilst trying to cram the last bits of chicken on his plate into his mouth before he took more from the large serving platter in the middle of the table. To be frank, Naruto hadn't really expected that question but was happy to answer. "When I was young, growing up, I kept myself to myself as much as possible. I was never really liked by any adults either so it was best to just keep out of the way which resulted in me never coming to the park, things like that - if you get me?" Naruto tried to explain to Chōji. Chōji nodded his head in understanding and decided that it wouldn't be best to ask why the villagers didn't like him, maybe Naruto would tell him in the future.

The rest of the conversation centred mainly towards their ninja training and the other three boys were fascinated to hear about the training that Naruto was receiving from the ex-Anbu Captain Kakashi. Naruto felt great pleasure in telling them about a few of the things he could do but remembered Kakashi telling him not to reveal everything so made sure he left out some of the bigger abilities and skills he had. The look on their faces was of pure awe and Kiba immediately took to asking Naruto if he could teach him some of the skills that he had spoken about only to be shot down with a quick no and a chuckle from Naruto. It was definitely odd for Naruto to have people asking him for his help, he wasn't going to let it go to his head but of course it was a nice feeling to have - that you are wanted and valued.

After eating the four students said goodbye and wandered off to see other friends or return back home. Naruto took this time to drop in on Kakashi. Kakashi was always fascinated to hear what Naruto had been doing that day at the Academy, he didn't care so much for the stuff he was being taught but got a chuckle from the pranks him and Kiba were pulling on the Academy teachers. When Naruto had told Kakashi about the time he had pranked Mizuki, a teacher that clearly hated Naruto, by stealing his ninja outfit from his home Kakashi hadn't stopped laughing for days. Of course, Iruka hadn't taken to this too nicely but Naruto bet inside he found it funny too. _Hm, I wonder where Kakashi will be.. Probably at the Memorial Stone, I'll drop by._, thought Naruto. So off Naruto went in search of his Sensei/friend to tell him about the day's events.

Sure enough Kakashi was standing stoically facing the Memorial stone not moving an inch. Naruto thought for a second whether or not he should leave Kakashi to it but was stopped when Kakashi turned round and spoke, "Ah, Naruto come to tell me about your day at the Academy?" Naruto sheepishly grinned, Kakashi always knew what he wanted. Chuckling Naruto admitted that he did in fact want to, "Yeah if that's alright with you?" Kakashi smiled and gave a short nod, "That's fine Naruto but I need to give a report to the Hokage. Perhaps you can walk with me to the Hokage and you can tell me on the way?" Naruto in understanding agreed and the two began to walk off back into the village with the Hokages Tower set as their destination.

Naruto proceeded to tell Kakashi about what they had learnt and made sure that he vented his annoyance at having to learn such weak Jutsu and thought that the history of the Ninja was something completely irrelevant and pointless. Kakashi chuckled, _He really is like you sometimes, Obito_, he thought. Some of the villagers were still giving Naruto the odd horrible glance to Naruto every now and then but a quick bit of killer intent released from Kakashi soon but them off them.

After walking and talking for a good 20 minutes they had finally reached the entrance to the large Hokage Tower. "Tomorrow is Saturday so I'll see you bright and early for training at the usual time. See ya soon Naruto, good talking" were Kakashi's final words before he headed inside the building. With a quick turn Naruto began to wander back to his apartment ready to do some studying of Kakashi's scrolls, cook tea and then head to bed.

The next morning Naruto repeated the same routine he had practised every day: mustering the physical and mental strength to drag himself out of bed, taking a shower, getting changed, cooking breakfast and finally leaving the apartment for the training grounds.

It was still very early in the morning so regular civilians were not yet outside, the only people in the streets were ninja like Naruto and stall owners setting up for a day's trade. Walking through his apartment door, closing and then locking it Naruto set of to the training grounds to meet Kakashi for the days training. It didn't take Naruto long to reach the ground as he took to jumping from roof to roof at an almost inhuman speed.

Naruto found Kakashi at the training ground with the same book in hand as he usually did, Icha Icha Paradise. Sighing and with a chuckle Naruto approached Kakashi to begin the training. "You're a minute late, Naruto" said Kakashi with amusement present in his voice. It was incredibly ironic that Kakashi was lecturing Naruto on being late as Kakashi was renowned throughout the village as always being late, often by hours. Shrugging it off Naruto apologized and they both set to work.

"How about we just go through a couple of the Jutsu we have learnt over the past couple of months and see if you still remember all of the hand signs?" asked Kakashi. Naruto nodded in agreement and began to cycle through some of the Jutsu that he knew, he started with his infamous Shadow Clone Jutsu which he, of course, performed to perfection creating 20 clones almost effortlessly. The second Jutsu Kakashi had taught Naruto was the Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique, this allowed the user to conceal themselves underground and drag their target down into the earth essentially immobilizing them. Naruto used this technique on one of his Shadow Clones and performed it to perfection. Kakashi smiled and nodded: "Well done Naruto, carry on"

Despite not having a strong affinity in Fire Kakashi had taught Naruto to perform the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique Jutsu - a Jutsu commonly associated with the Uchiha clan. Naruto ran through the hand seals - Horse, Tiger, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse and finally Tiger - and produced a big fire ball. Whilst it wasn't as big as the ones Kakashi could produce by any means it was still incredibly impressive for an Academy Student. Again, smiling, Kakashi prompted Naruto to complete the third Jutsu in his arsenal. Naruto nodded and started to perform another Earth Release Jutsu, Earth Style Wall. Performing the hand seals - Tiger, Hare, Boar and Dog - a sudden large wall of Earth, 10 meters high, rose from the ground in front of him.

Naruto started jumping up and down in joy, normally he could only produce a wall of around 7 meters in height but this time he had gone 3 meters further and he had just produced three high level Jutsu! Kakashi also expressed his amazement: "Wow Naruto I wasn't expecting that, well done!" Naruto grinned, he did love it when Kakashi complemented him on his Jutsu. It felt amazing for a top level Ninja like Kakashi to actually acknowledge him for his Ninja skills. _Time for the last Jutsu Naruto, let's see if you can pull this off_, thought Kakashi. "Alright Naruto, time for the last Jutsu I have taught you. See what you can do!" commanded Kakashi.

Naruto took a moment to compose himself before starting. After a few moments he began to rush through hand seals at an inhuman speed and ended it with a large shout "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Suddenly a massive gust of wind, that as you might imagine from a Tornado, shot out from Naruto in the direction of the large wall of Earth he had just constructed and hit the wall. The wall then exploded and large rocks and bits of the earth were sent flying in every direction, including Kakashi prompting him to jump away into a nearby tree. After the explosion had stopped Naruto collapsed to the floor and started to pant heavily, he was about to completely collapse and faceplant the floor but was stopped when Kakashi swooped down and held Naruto up right.

"Well done Naruto, you did really well today. Perhaps I should take you home now and we can work on some new stuff tomorrow?" said Kakashi. But Kakashi didn't wait for an answer from Naruto and, with Naruto in his arms, jumped off into the direction of Naruto's apartment. _He really is your kid, isn't he_, he thought as he was jumping from building to building with the apartment in his sights. With a small chuckle he kicked off from his feet and did one last massive jump and landed on the window ledge of Naruto's apartment. Carrying Naruto through the window he set him on the bed. "Thanks for the lift, Kakashi-Sensei" Naruto said with a small chuckle. Kakashi, too, responded with a short chuckle. "It's no problem Naruto, I'll see you tomorrow" And with that Kakashi jumped out the window and went to wherever a man like that goes, probably somewhere to read his book.

Naruto quickly, without much effort, fell into a sleep that would last him until the next day's morning - and that was a long sleep, it wasn't even lunch time yet.

**Author's note: I am really terrible at writing Training scenes. If anyone has any tips please leave them as a review, thanks!**


	7. Heritage

**Author's notes: Thank you to the one awesome reviewer that last a nice review for me! I hope you guys enjoyed the slightly longer chapter than normal (over 2000 characters!).**

**hooked reader: Thank you for the feedback. I apologize for using "trees" and not "leaves", just a small mistake on my part. I'll be sure to try and improve the writing of the training scenes and will attempt to make things more detailed, the readers should be able to see how Naruto develops not just what he has developed into. I will also try to write longer chapters!**

It was now the morning after Naruto showing Kakashi all of the Jutsu he had mastered and, to be frank, he still ached. You wouldn't think that using that much Chakra would have physical effects like aching but Naruto was a living example of it. However with Naruto's normal attitude he worked through the pain and started his morning rituals to get ready to head out for another day's training with Kakashi. So after 30 minutes Naruto was washed, changed and fed and was now on his way to the training grounds to meet Kakashi.

Whilst walking to the training grounds Naruto took the opportunity to really think back on the last four months of training with Kakashi. Naruto, in all honestly, valued Kakashi more as a friend than a Sensei beyond all others. Whilst, yes, Kakashi had taught Naruto an incredible amount, more than the Academy ever would, he had also been one of the first people to actually take time to spend with Naruto. Sure the Hokage would occasionally have come round in his younger days to see Naruto the visit only lasted for 30 minutes and most and the real purpose was probably just to check if he was still alive. _I'm sure he wanted to see me anyway but it was mostly because he had to, I guess_, he thought to himself.

None of the villagers could believe the change in Naruto, it was massive. Whilst he was still a prankster at heart he had greatly matured. No longer would you see him running up the cliff face covering the faces of the previous, and current, Hokages with bright luminous glow in the dark paint - if you did see him it would likely be Naruto doing something worthwhile like training to become stronger. Though many of the civilians didn't like the idea of the 'demon boy' to get stronger. Many were under the impression that if he got to strong the boy would end up killing every person in the village including all of the high ranking Jounin, Anbu and the Hokage too - the villagers were really naive sometimes, if not all the time.

Kakashi had been pushing Naruto to extreme lengths, it wasn't that much of a surprise though if you really thought about it: Kakashi was made a Jounin at a really young age and was use to pressure being but on him at a young act and was therefore putting the same, maybe a little less, onto Naruto. It sometimes escaped Naruto that he was being trained by one of the most powerful ninja in his village, something that too many would be an absolute honour - not that Naruto didn't view it as an honour but he just didn't realise the full impact of it.

Naruto's musing were cut short when he saw the guarded entrance of the training grounds within 10 meters.

Kakashi greeted Naruto without evening having to turn round to see if he was there. _Hmph, stupid Kakashi and his sensory skill_, thought a slightly annoyed Naruto. Though as Naruto thought about it more it did make sense that Kakashi knew he was there, he wasn't the quietest kid in the village by any means. Naruto returned the greeting and the two started to discuss what Naruto was going to be working on today. "I know you'll probably complain but today we're going to be working on your taijutsu. We haven't worked on it nearly as much as we have ninjutsu and it would be good to give you a head start on this skill too. We're going to start with a spar, sound good?" Without letting Naruto even respond Kakashi then said, with amusement laced in his voice, "Oh you do? Great sounds fun, let's start" and with that Kakashi started to run at Naruto.

_Well.. fuck_, was the general thought that went through Naruto's head at that moment. Within seconds Kakashi had reached Naruto and had started to barrage Naruto with punches and kicks. The only reason Naruto had so far not been hit was just from pure physical reflexes, nothing to do with skill at all. Losing his concentration Naruto was suddenly sent a good 15 meters into a tree by a fierce kick in the stomach by Kakashi. As Naruto stood back up he didn't even have any time to defend himself from the next set of hits that Kakashi was delivering, Naruto found himself again flown over to the other side of the training ground. This time Kakashi allowed him to catch his breath and brush himself off.

Then with a sudden burst of speed Kakashi came at him again and right when his fist was about to collide with Naruto's face he stopped and stood back. "So Naruto, see why we have to improve?" Kakashi asked with a grin evident underneath that black mask of his. Naruto gave a small annoyed chuckle, evidently still pissed off with his Sensei, "Yeah, I guess you're right" Kakashi ruffled the blond kids hair, "See, I knew you'd agree with me."

"Okay Naruto, I want you to create ten shadow clones. I'll do the same" instructed Kakashi. With the instruction uttered Naruto immediately created ten shadow clones and so did Kakashi. "Each of my clones is going to teach you certain aspects of a taijutsu style." "What style am I going to be learning Kakashi-Sensei?" Kakashi did his infamous eye-smile, he was hoping that Naruto would ask him this. "I'm planning on teaching you the taijutsu style of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze." Kakashi got the reaction he was hoping for, Naruto jaw practically dropped to the ground in amazement. Ignoring this Kakashi continued to explain, "Whilst it doesn't have a name per say I nicknamed it the Thunder God style as Minato-Sensei used to use it in conjunction with the Flying Thunder God Jutsu" "Wait, Sensei?" Naruto questioned in disbelief.

_Oh, I'm going to love this_, thought Kakashi. "Yes Naruto. Minato-Sensei was my instructor back when I was a Genin." Naruto was completely awestruck, he already knew that Kakashi was an incredibly strong ninja but it made it even better that he was personally trained by his idol the Fourth Hokage. Kakashi continued to explain, "I've never actually used it in battle as it hasn't really suited me but I think Minato-Sensei wouldn't mind you having it" _It is your inheritance, too_, thought Kakashi to himself. Naruto was so happy to be learning the taijutsu style of the Fourth Hokage, he'd always felt a kind of connection with him for some unknown reason and this would help to cement that into something more real. It was a true honour that Kakashi was teaching him this.

"Okay, so there are several parts to the style: how you should stand, hand positions, leg positions, that sort of stuff. Each one of my clones is going to teach one of your clones each bit and after I have taught it to that one clone you should create another 9 clones for each of the clones you created and they should work on perfecting it. Understand?" Kakashi's instructions seemed easy enough, so Naruto gave a short nod. "Okay, let's get going. My clones start choose a partner and start teaching" and with that Kakashi's clones paired up with one of Naruto's and his clone started to teach different parts of the style.

The real Kakashi was left with the real Naruto. "Are you going to be teaching me something, Kakashi-Sensei?" asked Naruto, wondering what they were going to be doing. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something Naruto" Naruto raised his eyebrow at this, Kakashi seemed very serious, "In a month's time I am going to have to start taking missions full time again which means I'm not going to be able to personally train you anymore." "Wait, so I'm just going to have to learn at the Academy?" asked Naruto, not believing what Kakashi was telling him. "Not at all, I'm going to leave you with scrolls on various jutsu and instructions on how to train at the very least. I'll also see if the Hokage can try and find someone else to train you while I'm away" This made Naruto feel a little bit better but it was still a shock to find out that he wasn't going to be trained by Kakashi anymore. To Naruto it wasn't so much about the training but more the spending time with Kakashi. Kakashi was a dear friend of Naruto and to not see him anymore would be a big shame.

"I know it's a bit of a shocker and I'm sorry that it's happening but I'm sure we'll figure something out" Kakashi gave his infamous eye smile and Naruto just nodded and accepted it. _Let's just hope that it all works out_, thought Naruto really hoping that things really did, work out. "Let's just forget about it until later when we go to see the Hokage, for now let's get mastering this style!" Kakashi was trying to motivate his student and to some extent it did work. Naruto smiled and pumped his fist into the air "You're right, let's go out on a bang!"

For the next three hours Naruto's clones continued to learn the style and attempt to master aspects of it. After the three hours was up Kakashi instructed Naruto to finish up and dispel his clones, which he did, and head with him to the Hokage's office. The pair decided to walk the civilian way through the streets which was longer but it beat having to jump roof to roof after you've been training for the whole morning. After 10 minutes or so they reached the Hokage Tower and headed up to the Hokage's office. Kakashi instructed Naruto to stay outside so Kakashi could talk to the Hokage.

Waiting outside the office Naruto noticed the familiar look that the receptionist was giving him, it was pure hate and disgust. Five years ago this would have really bothered Naruto and might have gotten him upset but now he didn't really care, it didn't bother him in the slightest. Naruto was drawn out of his musing when he heard shouting coming from the office, it sounded like Kakashi was arguing with the Hokage. He wondered whether he should go in to see what was going but decided against it, it wasn't a good idea to get involved with an angry Kage and Kakashi. The shouting slowly died down though and ten minutes later Kakashi walked out and ushered Naruto to come into the office.

"Ah Naruto, how are you my boy?" asked the Hokage, Naruto's grandfather figure in his life, with a warm smile evident on his face. "Very good thank you, and you Hokage-Ojiisan?" The Hokage chuckled at Naruto, if it was anyone else calling him an old man then they would have been punished but as it was Naruto he really didn't mind. "I'm very well, I suppose you're wondering why you're here?" Naruto nodded "I want to talk to you about your parents, Naruto" Naruto's eye widened, the Hokage had always told Naruto that his parents had died in the battle against the Nine Tailed Fox and that no one really knew who they were. "I think that it is time you learnt of your heritage" _My heritage, does that mean the old man knows who my parents are_, wondered Naruto still in disbelief.

"Your father was Minato Namikaze, Konoha's Yellow Flash, the Fourth Hokage and your mother was Kushina Uzumaki the Red-Hot Habanero. They were both incredibly strong, powerful and caring people and they both did truly love you with all their heart. Before you ask why I did not tell you before I will tell you now, I have two reasons: Firstly, your father and mother had countless amounts of enemies, if I had told you of your heritage you would have been targeted by ninja from across the nations. Secondly to be quite honest I didn't want you to get everything handed to you, I didn't want you to grow to become arrogant. I hope you understand me Naruto"

Naruto was stunned, he took a few moments to think to himself in complete silence not moving an inch. He went to open his mouth and speak a few times but no words came out. Finally when he did actually speak he said something that neither the Hokage or Kakashi had been expecting, "I was loved?" He said it in a quiet whisper, hardly audible. His voice resonated sadness, anticipation, happiness and many more emotions too long to list. Kakashi took to answer, "Yes Naruto, you were. Before you were born you were all they ever talked, you were their entire world and nothing would have changed that. Even when they did seal the Nine Tailed fox into you they only did it because they believed that your love would overcome the foxes hate. They believed in you to change the world."

Naruto gave a small, but almost sad, smile. "I thought I was going to be angry, when you first told me, but I'm not. I think that the reason I've got to where I am today is because of the love they gave me before they died, they filled me with their compassion, happiness and love. They died for me and the village and I have nothing but respect for them. I know I don't know them, at all, but I love them for what they did." explained Naruto in a low whisper, still not quite believing what was happening before him. "They believed I could overcome the foxes hate with my love and I will promise you now, I will" Naruto shouted the last bit stunning both Kakashi and the old Hokage.

Neither Kakashi or the Hokage had expected this reaction, if anything they had expected Naruto to explode in anger and curse them for not telling him earlier but he hadn't. _He really is like you Minato: too forgiving; too king; too caring. _thought the Hokage. "Naruto, both of your parents also left you a letter and some jutsu scrolls to learn. I believe your father left you instructions on how to perform the Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God Technique and your mother left you a large collection of Water Jutsu." explained the aging Hokage. Naruto grinned, he was going to be able to learn some of the most powerful jutsu in existence.

"Another thing Naruto is that I don't want you going round telling people about your heritage, if it gets out people will come after you and whilst you are strong for your age you could easily be beaten by a Jounin." explained the Hokage. _Not with these techniques, ka-pow!_, Naruto did a karate kick in his head expressing his enthusiasm. The Hokage then got up out of his chair and wandered towards the door, bit his thumb drawing blood and then swiped his thumb over a picture of the fourth Hokage that was on the wall. The picture frame swung upon and revealed a hidden compartment, within it could be seen several scrolls of different colours. The Hokage gathered them all within his hands set them down on his desk and then closed the picture frame.

The Hokage then picked the scrolls up from his desk and handed them to Naruto. "Naruto, regardless of if you can master these Jutsu or not I know that your parents would be proud of you - remember that" Naruto smiled, it really meant a lot to hear that from the old man whom he viewed as his grandfather. "I'll walk you back to your apartment Naruto" Kakashi informed Naruto, he then turned to the Hokage and the Hokage gave him a nod signalling him to go. With that Kakashi walked Naruto back to his apartment and bid him goodbye.

Naruto walked over to his bed and sat down resting the scrolls onto his side. He then looked at the collection of scrolls to his side and decided to open the letters, he started with the one from his father:

_Hiya Naruto,_

_It breaks my heart that I'm having to write you a letter like this, I always thought that I was going to be there for you whilst you were growing up so I could see all the important parts of your life: graduating from the academy, getting your first girlfriend, finally surpassing me. All of the things a Father should be there to do for his kid but I guess I can't so the least I can do is give you some words of love._

_Your mother will tell you the same, we both love you beyond anything in this world. Though we haven't grown up with you we both know that you will become a splendid ninja. I have left you with copies on how to perform my two most powerful Jutsu, the Flying Thunder God and the Rasengan._

_Another thing, if you see an old white-haired man peeking on girls at the hot springs then it's probably Jiraiya - tell him who you are and he should help you out learning these and might even let you sign the Toad Contract._

_I must go now, the fox is attacking the village and as the Hokage I should probably be stopping it! Between me and you, you're more important than the village though so why shouldn't I spend some time writing to you? Anyway, must go._

_You'll see me again Naruto, I'm sure of it._

_Love,_

_Your Father, Minato Namikaze_

Deciding to not let the emotions get to him yet he quickly moved onto the next letter from his mother.

_Dear Son,_

_If you're reading this then it must mean that I have died and you do not know me.. The thought of that kills me, but I'm not important! I want to talk to you, Mother to Son._

_You will undoubtedly know by now that you are the Jailor of the Nine Tailed Fox that attacked our village but you must know why you were chosen for this burden. Your father and I beleive that with your love you can overcome the hate of the great demon. I have faith that you can cure even the darkest of hearts, I know you can._

_I think that you, my son, will bring a new era of peace to our nation. I have no doubt that you have what it takes to become the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves so follow in your father's footsteps okay?_

_I've also left you a collection of my water jutsu scrolls as well as a good collection of scrolls on sealing which may come in helpful for you. _

_Remember Naruto I love you with all of my heart, both me and your Father do. Never forget that. We are proud to have you as our son._

_You'll see me again._

_Love,_

_Your Mother, Kushina Uzumaki._

And with that Naruto's emotions finally surfaced as he collapsed and forced his head into his pillows crying his eyes out in joy. He was loved.


	8. Graduation

**anarion87: Thank you!**

**hooked reader: Nice to see you again! Now to answer your questions:**

**Yes I will be but I want to make it clear that Naruto isn't going to be starting the village up again, his dream is to become Hokage. He has no ambition to be the Kage of another village.**

**There is a poll on my profile, you guys can vote for who you want him to be paired with.**

**I've thought of maybe giving him a bloodline through a contract with the Fox as well as a fox summoning contract (He will still use toad, however).**

**Now, without further ado let's start!**

It had really been quite odd for Naruto to process the information that he had just recently learnt, if anything it was just hard for him not to tell people. _Hah, would put them in their place if I did_**, **he thought to himself on occasion but still knew that he had to honour what the Hokage had told him. The days after he had been told he was almost angry at the Hokage for not telling but he knew at the end of the day the old man was right. In Naruto's young age he probably would have gone round telling people about his heritage as a way of saying _'In your face!'_ to all the people that had ever been cruel to them. Whilst it probably would have worked news would have gotten out pretty quick and it wouldn't be too long until his father's enemies would be after him for leverage or just to kill him.

Kakashi had been to visit him a few days after he had been told when Academy lessons were over and told Naruto that it was probably best to leave the Rasengan and Flying Thunder God technique for the moment as Naruto just didn't have the skill to do it yet. Naruto was a little peeved at this at first but then understood. As much as he hated to admit it Kakashi was probably right, these were two jutsu used by one of the strongest Ninja his village had ever seen and he wasn't even a Genin yet - he'd leave it until he graduated at least.

However it didn't matter that much as he still had the scrolls that his Mother left him: the water jutsu and the sealing jutsu. It also had instructions on how to bypass the security seals in the Village Hidden by Whirlpools, his mothers clan's home village. He would have to check that out one day, there might be something for him there.

Naruto would break up from Academy lessons in a month's time for a month break so he decided that for now he should just continue with his Academy lessons and then try to get some of these learnt during the one month break. It sucked that Kakashi wouldn't be able to help but he was sure that he would be able to do it himself if he really tried and was determined, and by gosh he was determined.

Cutting short from his thoughts Naruto sighed, another day at the academy and he had to be there in thirty minutes. So again, as Naruto always he did, he went through his morning routine and got ready for the days classes. After a short while he was ready and he set out with the Academy set in his sights.

People would usually just wait inside their classroom at the Academy before lessons started even though you could stay outside until the bell rang. I think for many people it was just easier and meant they weren't late accidently. With this knowledge Naruto walked into his classroom and walked over to Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji. "Hey Naruto" Shikamaru greeted Naruto along with Kiba and Choji. Naruto smiled at the group and gave them a short "Hiya"

For the next five minutes they talked about the normal trivial boy topics, nothing Naruto particularly cared about but some of the stuff Kiba was coming out with was funny. Not many people knew that Kiba actually has a crush on a certain Hinata Hyuga, the heiress to the Hyuga clan. Kiba was viewed by many to be extremely confident and in most cases he was but with this particular girl he couldn't bring himself to even talk to her. _I wonder what will happen to those two.._ Naruto was cut short from his thoughts though when their sensei, Iruka, walked into the room and ushered for them to all sit down into their respected places. Naruto spent the rest of the morning teasing Kiba about his crush resulting in an extremely embarrassed and red-faced Kiba.

For their third lesson of the day Iruka was teaching them Shinobi Law, one of the most boring subjects Naruto could think of. Whilst he agreed that you did need to know some of the basic stuff it was taking it too far to have 6 of these lessons each week when they could be doing something more useful.. _Like actually learning Jutsu_ Naruto thought to himself. Iruka in today's lessons presented them with a situation. "Okay class, imagine this: You and a comrade have been assigned a mission to execute a high profile politician. However on the mission your comrade is captured. You can either chose to complete the mission and execute the politician but your comrade dies or you can save your comrade and the politician lives another day. What should you do?"

Many people in the class, Sakura for one, instantly shot their hands up and said proudly that they would complete the mission because that is what Shinobi Law dictates. Iruka then congratulated them and began to move onto another subject but stopped when he saw Naruto's hand go up in the air. "Yes, Naruto?" Iruka prompted Naruto for his reasoning of raising his hand. "I disagree, Iruka-Sensei" Many of the class were shocked and started to _'ooh' _and _'aah'_ at Naruto. Iruka however gave a small smile and beckoned Naruto to give his reasoning. "A wise man once told me that 'In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.' This has stuck with me, I would never leave a friend behind regardless of the mission. I will never let my precious people die for the sake of a mission." Naruto explained his reasoning.

**FLASHBACK: 2 and a half years ago**

Naruto and Kakashi was standing silently next to the Stone Memorial which had the names of all the ninja that had fallen in battle protecting the village engraved onto it. Kakashi would stand facing the memorial every day, silently, not uttering a word deep in concentration. "Kakashi, I don't want to intrude bu-" Naruto was, however, cut short by Kakashi "I suppose you want to know why I come here all of the time, right? It makes sense I suppose, I have never told you" Naruto gave Kakashi a look as if to say go on. "This memorial stone has the names of my two teammates, Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara. I was unable to save either of them, I come here to pay my respects for which I feel I have to for the rest of my time" Kakashi tried to explain.

"I never really viewed Obito as a friend if I'm honest, he was always loud and brash - the complete opposite of me. It was only in Obito's final moments that I truly became connected with him and we became like brothers. He left me with two gifts: his Sharingan that I have in the eye covered by my headband and an important way to live my life." "What was the important way to live your life, Kakashi-Sensei?" "He told me that 'In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.'"

**END FLASHBACK**

Many of the more ignorant people in the class started to complain about Naruto saying that you should break the rules but the people more in tune like Shikamaru, Hinata, Shino and others nodded their heads in approval. What Naruto said really was true, that should be how a ninja really works. To protect your precious people must be your number one priority mission.

After that the rest of the lesson was fairly uneventful, nothing really interesting happened for the rest of the day in fact. In no time it was the end of the day and time for everyone to go home. Naruto was thinking about maybe going off with Kiba and the crew but decided against it and instead decided that he would go to the library.

Naruto knew that he didn't have a chance in hell getting into the Library looking like he did, most of the civilians hated Naruto including the Librarian. Luckily though she was no Ninja and wouldn't be able to spot a transformation so Naruto in his eternal wisdom decided to transform into a random civilian who he had seen earlier that day and entered the building. Naruto had come to the Library because he wanted to find out information about his Mothers old village, Naruto had the hopes of one day visiting there and discovering some of its secrets. One of the problems was that the village was notoriously hard to find, it was hidden by complex genjutsu and actually entering it was hard as it was protected by many seals.

Naruto under his new transformation entered the library and began to walk towards the 'Historical Villages' category of the Library. He was walking perfectly normally when suddenly he heard a voice call out behind him "Excuse me?" _Oh shit, I'm busted_ thought Naruto "Ah it is you Takashi, how are you?" Naruto playing along with the act replied "I'm very fine and you?" The librarian smiled at Naruto, or Takashi, "Ah I'm very good Takashi, what are you looking for today?" Naruto thought that it probably wasn't a good idea to say that he was looking for the location of a lost hidden village so instead said that he was just having a browse. This seemed to work and Naruto was left to his own devices to explore the category of the library's collection of books.

After 10 minutes of searching Naruto finally found a scroll containing information on Hidden Villages in water areas and Naruto found information about the whereabouts of the Village Hidden in the whirlpools. Smiling to himself he pocketed the scroll and left the Library quickly before anyone could stop him if they had seen him take the scroll.

Naruto then spent the rest of the night attempting to decode the information about the location, it wasn't encrypted with a code per say but it was almost like a riddle. After a good couple of hours he soon found out what it really meant. Naruto now knew the location of his ancestral home, he would be making a visit in the next few years, he was sure of it but for now he would just focus on learning the water jutsu that he had been left.

**TIMESKIP: 2 YEARS**

Naruto was now 13 years old and six years had passed since Naruto had first started training with Kakashi and learnt of his burden. This was his last day of the Academy, today he would be graduating, that is if he passed the graduation test, and would then be put on his first team. Ever since Kakashi started going on missions again Naruto hadn't seen as much of him, but Kakashi did occasionally drop by his apartment to say hi and would sometimes even come to help Naruto train if he had the time. Kakashi also dropped Naruto a scroll with the instructions of the taijutsu style that he was learning, Naruto can now safely say that he has perfected it. The only thing that could be improved is his power and speed but part of that comes from age, he was still only 13 - only just a teenager.

Cutting away from these thoughts he began to prepare himself for today, he did everything he usually did in the morning apart from eat breakfast - Naruto was going to treat himself today. Naruto walked out of his apartment door and wandered down the stairs that led to the streets. Naruto slowly paced down the street with the Ichiraku Ramen stool set in his sights. When Naruto was younger the two people that managed the store, Teuchi and Ayame, always looked out for Naruto when they could. They actually showed him kindness and compassion when no one else did and for that Naruto was grateful. Sometimes they would even let Naruto have a few bowls of ramen for free if Naruto had no money or if he just looked more down than usual.

Arriving at the store Naruto was surprised to see a familiar face, Iruka. Naruto walked up behind Iruka and placed his hand on his shoulder, "Hi Iruka-Sensei, how are you this morning?" Naruto asked his Academy instructor. Iruka jumped out of his skin a little bit but he turned to face Naruto and smiled at the young boy, "Very well Naruto, big day today huh!" Naruto gave a small chuckle and nodded. "How about the usual, on the house for the big day?" Naruto looked up to Teuchi, smiled and nodded "You're making it sound like I'm getting married but yes that would be wonderful thank you" This made the three of them laugh.

"So Naruto, are you looking forward to today? Do you think that you're going to pass?" Iruka questioned Naruto, he knew that Naruto was going to pass but it would be interesting to see what the kid would say. "Looking forward to it.. yes, definitely. I cannot wait to actually become a Ninja and start doing missions for my village and I certainly hope I will pass, I've put in enough work for it" Naruto tried to explain to Iruka. Naruto was right though, he had put in absolutely loads of work and training for it - a lot more than was required. Naruto was definitely at chunin level at this point, the only thing that he seriously lacked at this point were his genjutsu skills that were, practically, nonexistent. "I'm sure you'll do just fine Naruto, you'll make Kakashi proud. I know he has put a lot of time and effort into you, between you and me: I think he views you as his son in some ways. He's always talking about you and the thinks you are able to do, you mean a lot to him."

Naruto knew he had a bond with Kakashi that not many other children had with other ninja in the village but he had never thought of it this way. _I mean I suppose in some ways.. I think of him as the Father I've never had, he's been there for the past 6 years watching over me - teaching me how to take care of myself. Iruka.. you might just be right.._ Naruto gave a small smile, he had gone so far in the past 6 years: from a relative nobody to one of the most powerful, mature and smart students of his age. If that wasn't an accomplishment then he didn't know what was.

The two ninja chatted for the next 5 minutes until they were both finished at which point they paid, left and started to head towards the Academy.

The graduation test was taking part in the first lesson and then teams would be assigned the lesson afterwards. Inside the classroom were all the academy students looking more anxious and nervous than ever. Iruka and two other academy instructors that Naruto had never seen before walked into the room and everyone immediately took their places and became silent, including Naruto. "Alright we're going to make this easy. I will call your name and you will then be called to the front where you will have to perform three different Jutsu." explained Iruka looking up at all of the wannabe genin.

"Nara, Shikamaru. You're up!" shouted one of the Academy instructors that had walked in with Iruka. Shikamaru performed all three of the Jutsu correctly and received his Hitai-ate. The Academy instructor then proceeded to call the names of the other Academy students until he finally came to Naruto's name, "Uzumaki, Naruto. Please come to the front"

Naruto carefully stood up from his desk and walked down to the front of the classroom and stood in front of the table that Iruka and the two other Academy instructors were sat at. Iruka looked up to Naruto and smiled, "Naruto, please can you transform into me" Naruto nodded, transformations were easy. He had used them many times to get into the library. Naruto did some hand seals and promptly transformed into Iruka and he then dispelled the transformation turning back into Naruto. "Okay, can you now produce three clones of any type" Naruto nodded and cross his fingers to create a cross shape and said "Shadow Clone Jutsu" Three solid clones then appeared. Naruto looked at Iruka was a look as if to say 'Is this alright?', Iruka nodded at Naruto and told him to dispel the clones. Finally Iruka asked Naruto to perform a substitution technique which involved Naruto swapping with an inanimate object in the classroom, Naruto nodded and performed some hand seals which led to him switching places with his desk chair.

Naruto then switched back and appeared once again at the front of the class room. "Congratulations Naruto, you pass with flying colours. Which headband colour would you like for your Hiati-tai, we have Black or Blue?" Iruka asked Naruto. Naruto thought for a moment and then requested that he could have the Black forehead protector cloth. Iruka nodded in compliance and picked up a Black Hiati-tai and handed it to a beaming Naruto. Naruto was the last person in the class to be taking the test so they were now done, Iruka instructed Naruto to return to his seat.

Naruto sat down in his desk, pointed at his headband to Kiba and gave his trademark smirk. He was now a Ninja.

"Okay class, congratulations to those of you that have passed. I will now tell you your Genin teams, you will meet your instructor next lesson. Team 10 will be comprised of Chōji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and your Jonin instructor will be Asuma Sarutobi. Please wait in classroom A-24"

Iruka then read out the names for Team 9 but Naruto didn't know any of them.

"Next up is Team 8, your team is comprised of Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyūga, Kiba Inazuka and your Jonin Instructor will be Kurenai Yūhi. Please wait in classroom B-12"

"The next team is Team 7, your team is comprised of Naruto Uzumaki, " Naruto's ears perked up at this "Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. Your Jonin Instructor is Kakashi Hatake. Please proceed to classroom A-2" Naruto was absolutely ecstatic, on one hand he did have the two worst team members in the world: a broody avenge seeking lunatic and a Sasuke obsessed fangirl. It didn't matter though because Kakashi was his Sensei and that was going to make things so much fun. _I wonder why he didn't tell me.. I guess it was meant to be a suprise.. _thought Naruto before breaking out of his thought to walk to the classroom to meet their new Sensei.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all arrived in the classroom at the same time. Naruto kept himself to himself while Sakura started to fawn over how cool and amazing Sasuke was. _This is going to be a drag.. Oh god, I'm becoming like Shikamaru_, thought Naruto. Right before Naruto was about to kill himself, not literally, his favourite Jonin walked into the room and gave them all a wave. "Roof, 5 minutes" was all he said before he poofed away in smoke. Naruto following suit also poofed away in smoke and appeared on the roof.

Naruto looked over and saw Kakashi standing there completely oblivious to Naruto. Naruto coughed to signal his presence to Kakashi, Kakashi looked up and gave a small chuckle.

"Ah I forgot you could bodyflicker Naruto"

"Yeah well I can. So, how come you didn't tell me you would be our Sensei, Kakashi-Sensei?" asked Naruto who looked pretty confused.

"I would have loved to but I only just got put off fulltime missions and the Hokage instructed me not to tell anyone. I hope you understand"

Naruto nodded, he did understand. It wasn't that un-normal for things like this to be kept secret until the actual day, I mean the Hokage technically didn't actually know for sure that all of them would pass and that team would be formed. Naruto then heard some panting and footsteps and turned around to see that Sasuke and Sakura had ran up the stairs. Sasuke gave Naruto a really evil look, he was probably jealous that him, the Uchiha Elite, had been beaten by 'the demon'.

Kakashi ushered for the group of three to sit down. "Let's start by getting to know each other. We'll go round in a circle and tell each other our likes, dislikes, dreams for the future and hobbies. You got first pinkie." "Why don't you go first Sensei, after all we know nothing about you." Kakashi nodded and complied, "I'm Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes… My dreams for the future… Hmm… As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies…" The whole team facepalmed, including Naruto - they had only learnt the guys name from that. Naruto was used to it by now though, Kakashi could be very cryptic when he wanted to be.

Kakashi motioned towards Sakura to go first. "My name is Hanuro Sakura. The thing I like is.. well the person I like is.. and uhm.. My dream for the future.. uhm? My hobby is.. What I dislike is Ino!" Kakashi sighed, she had been looking at Sasuke and giggling the whole time she was talking, he was stuck with another fangirl - great. Kakashi then motioned for Sasuke to talk.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are lots of things I dislike and I don't really like anything and I can't really call it a dream but I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan and to kill a certain man." _So.. so far we have a fangirl and a brooding avenger, great._ Kakashi relinquished himself from his thoughts and prompted the final member of the team to go.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, my friends and training. I dislike people that think they are instantly important because of their heritage. My dream is to surpass my parents and eventually become Hokage of this village. My hobbies are training." Sakura looked shocked, she didn't know that Naruto knew who his parents were. Sakura was told by her parents to keep away from Naruto because he was trouble. Sasuke was too surprised, he hadn't ever talked to Naruto but he remembered as a kid his father also telling him to steer clear of the kid. He hadn't expected to hear Naruto say something so.. honourable.

Kakashi smiled at Naruto, he had always known it was Naruto's ambition to become Hokage but it felt better every time Naruto reconfirmed it. _Minato-Sensei, you would be proud of your son_, he thought.

"Okay guys, now we know each other a bit better time for me to tell you about the real graduation exam." Sakura started screeching about how this was unfair and that they shouldn't have to take another but a stern look from Sasuke calmed her down. "Come to Training Ground 3 tomorrow morning at 7, don't eat breakfast." and with that Kakashi flew off into the distance.


	9. Bell test

**Hooked reader: Always a kind reviewer, thank you! I'm looking forward to writing that too. I don't think justifying the summoning is particularly needed as in the story Sasuke can summon both Snakes and a giant eagle without issue. We'll see about the bloodline, maybe other people will have some suggestions. Thank you again.**

**Another thing, Naruto will still meet the fox in the same way as in the original. So yes, he'll be training with Jiraiya.**

**Just to remind you all to vote for a pairing for Naruto please visit my profile, there's a poll there.**

Naruto arrived at the same time as his two other team mates, all had started the day the same way apart from one, rather large, difference: Naruto had eaten breakfast and Sasuke and Sakura had not. In the ninja world you should learn to look underneath the underneath, there is always a hidden meaning to something. Kakashi had only told them not to eat their breakfast so it would make them more weak and irritable for the test.

Sakura was slumped down next to a tree looking depressed, for a change. Despite this she still managed to catch glances at Sasuke who was standing next to a tree with the same glum expression. It was clear both of them had followed Kakashi's instructions and had not eaten breakfast, they were now feeling the results of that. Though by looking at Sakura you would have thought that she didn't eat anything fullstop, she was as skinny as a rake - almost no flesh to her what so ever. This was something Sakura would need to change if she wanted to become serious, at the moment all she ever really cared about was impression Sasuke but that clearly wasn't work out too well.

Sasuke was an odd case. He had some training previous to the Academy due to being in the prestigious Uchiha clan but as soon as his whole clan was massacred by Itachi, his older brother, it wasn't like he had someone there to train him. He could only revise what he had already learnt and possibly learn new things from scrolls left behind that he could find. Sasuke could make a good ninja but the way he was going right now he wouldn't. He was too stuck in a world of hate with no direction, his goal was not to be the best he could be but was to kill Itachi. Maybe Naruto could try and talk some sense into Sasuke at some point but now wasn't the right time to do so.

The team then proceeded to wait around for the next 2 hours on their sensei. Naruto knew that Kakashi had a tendency to be late when it came to important scheduled things but he had never been late when it was him and Naruto training. Maybe it was just to rile up the team a bit more and get them even more annoyed so he could exploit their flaws. Smirking Naruto thought to himself _Sorry Kakashi-Sensei, Sasuke and Sakura might be dumb enough to fall for your tricks but I'm not!_

All of a sudden the figure of Kakashi came into view, he was walking down the dirt track that leads to the training ground. Instantly Sakura stood up and started shouting about how he was late and demanded an excuse. She got an excuse, "Sorry, I got lost on the road of life." The whole team facepalmed at this, including Naruto. It was such a 'Kakashi thing' to say, many people on the team, or just in general, would think this is something Kakashi came up with on his own but Naruto knew the real reason. Kakashi's old teammate, Obito, always turned up to training and missions late with an excuse that seemed unbelievable but was actually true. Obito had usually greeted his team, 2 hours late, in the morning with an excuse that he had helped an old lady cross the road, found a black cat and had to find a different way to the grounds or some other inane story. Naruto expected that it was just out of respect and in memory that Kakashi did it. Obito was someone dear to him.

Kakashi ushered for everyone to be quiet though this was mainly directed at Sakura who was still squealing like a banshee. Kakashi pulled out two small bells on a string and tied them to his waist. "To pass my test and stay as a Genin you need to retrieve one of these bells. If you cannot then you will return to the Academy for another year" Kakashi informed the group of three. Sakura began to look a little scared, "But Kakashi-Sensei, there are only two?" Sakura stuttered the question out. Smiling and nodding Kakashi agreed with her, "Yes there are which means one of you today is returning to the Academy."

Both Sakura and Sasukes eyes widened at this revelation but Naruto's did not. Naruto was already picking up on the hidden message of this exercise. While yes, technically according to Kakashi's rules, only two people can pass Naruto knew this was not true. All Genin formations are made up of a group of three Genin and one Jonin instructor. Running tests like this would mess the balance up and therefore balanced teams could not be created. The hidden meaning of this test was not to test the Genin's skill but was to test their teamwork. Naruto smirked, _Oh Kakashi-Sensei, you really are clever. Let's see how long it takes them to figure it out, if they do at all that is., _he thought to himself still with the smirk evident on his face.

Kakashi looked over to Naruto and saw him smirking, _I wonder, have you figured it out already Naruto?_ "Now without further ado, you may start" Both Sakura and Sasuke jumped off into some trees, but, as usual, Naruto didn't copy them and stayed still. "It's real clever Kakashi, I'm not sure if the rest of my **team** will actually figure it out" Naruto emphasized the word 'team' just to hint to Kakashi a bit more that he knew the goal of the exercise. "Ah, I see you've worked it out then.. No surprise there, you were taught by the best." Kakashi had a proud gleam in his eye when he said this.

Nearby Sasuke could be seen hiding amongst the branches of a tree listening to Naruto and Kakashi's conversation. _Wait, does he mean to say that Kakashi trained Naruto? Why did he not train me, I am the elite Uchiha!_, Sasuke's rage overwhelmed him and he promptly fell out of the tree and into the clearing Naruto and Kakashi were still talking too. Sasuke's head was buried in the soil and as he looked up his face showed complete and utter embarrassment. He instantly got up and brushed himself off, looked behind him then back at Naruto and Kakashi and then jumped away into another bunch of trees.

Naruto and Kakashi looked at each other with complete disbelief and then started laughing. Kakashi then began to start talking in between his chuckles, "Right then Naruto, shall we get started and put on a show?" Naruto nodded in agreement and got into the famous Thunder God style that Kakashi had taught him so well. Then in a quick flash of yellow Naruto seemed to almost disappear to the normal eye. To many it might have seemed like Naruto had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique but he hadn't, Kakashi just taught him a simple Jutsu trick that allowed him to make a flash of yellow to mask his movements. Then in an instant Naruto and Kakashi were returning blows on each other, Naruto got lucky and Kakashi let his guard down for a second and he was able to land a sold blow on the instructors chest blowing him back 20 meters into the base of a tree.

Sasuke who was still watching from a far was amazed and shocked, he never thought in a million years that Naruto of all people would be able to keep up with and even land a hit on a Jonin, especially Kakashi who was revered by many as to be the strongest Jonin in their village.

After Naruto had landed the hit sending Kakashi into the tree he took the chance to jump away so he could talk to his teammates about the real meaning of this test. He first went to Sakura and tried to talk sense into her. "Sakura, you need to work with me. The real meaning behind this test is teamwork, we need to work together." Despite the solid explanation that Naruto had given Sakura his pleases we ignored, "Why would I want to work with you Naruto, Sasuke is way stronger!" She said the last bit with hearts in her eyes and her hands held together like in prayer. Sighing Naruto simply jumped away and decided that he would try Sasuke, as pointless as it may be.

Naruto had snuck up behind Sasuke and was now less than a meter away from him, deciding to play a joke on Sasuke he got a bit closer and then said "Boo!" right into his ear. This sudden noise made Sasuke jump out of his skin and look back at Naruto with daggers in his eyes. "Sasuke, we need to work as a team if we want to pass" Naruto wasn't going to mess around with pleasantries, if Sasuke wanted to work with him he would if he didn't then that was his loss. "No go away idiot, I'm going to beat Kakashi on my own." _Ah well, I tried_, thought the young blonde kid.

Sasuke then jumped down into the clearing and immediately shouted "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique" A fireball then shot out of Sasuke's mouth in the direction of Kakashi. It was by no means great, but it was of a decent size for someone of that age and that chakra capacity. However Kakashi just dodged it by jumping slightly to his left and let the fireball fly past him only getting a little hot. Sasuke growled in anger and started to run at his Sensei in an attempt to wrestle him to the ground and take the bells. He successfully made it right up to Kakashi but right when he was about to punch Kakashi square in the face Kakashi grabbed his arm, flipped him over and pushed him in the ground. Kakashi sat over him with his knee holding down the boys back, Kakashi was saying something to him but couldn't quite hear it. Kakashi then, all of a sudden, released the boy and jumped back to his original spot. He then called out "Alright, test is over. Come over to me!"

Sasuke and Naruto walked the short distance to where Kakashi was standing, Sasuke had a foul look on his face. Naruto then noticed out of the corner of his eye the form of Sakura panting as she ran towards them. Kakashi ushered for them to walk over to three stumps in the ground, as soon as they got there he knocked out Sakura and began to tie her up to one of the stumps. Naruto and Sasuke both had their eyes wide open in shock. _Well, I wasn't expecting that Kakashi-Sensei_, thought Naruto. Kakashi then pulled out two lunch boxes, from where the boys would never know, and gave it to Naruto and Sasuke. "You are under strict instructions to not give any to Sakura when she wakes up. If you do you will fail." With that Kakashi jumped off in their opposite direction.

Sakura then, almost like magic, woke up and started looking around crazily and started shouting in a manic frenzy. "How dare he knock me out! When I get my hands on him!" Sasuke gave her a look that sent a shiver down her spine and she shut up. Naruto and Sasuke shared a glance and then both nodded. "Kakashi-Sensei did say we weren't meant to feed you but you are our teammate so we won't let you go without" informed Naruto. Without another word Naruto and Sasuke began to feed Sakura so she wouldn't go without food for the rest of the training period. POOF!

A cloud of smoke appeared and behind it was Kakashi, he face showing pure anger and disgust. "YOU..." They all waited for the word 'fail', but it didn't come "pass!" Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all shared looks of complete confusion, Kakashi seeing this decided to explain.

"The point of this test was to see if you could work as a team. I was disappointed at both of you, Sasuke and Sakura, for not taking up his request to work together. If you had I would have passed you then and there. Instead I had to tie you up Sakura for basically doing nothing. If you had not shared your lunch with Sakura I would have failed you right here. Let me tell you: In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." Sakura and Sasuke's eyes widened while Naruto smirked, this was what Naruto had told them in the Academy all that time ago.

"We've heard that said before, Sensei" Sakura said. Kakashi looking confused asking her who said it. "Naruto did in the Academy one time when we were talking about whether you should break the rules to save a friend, or teammate, or not" Kakashi looked over to Naruto and smiled, "Ah I see, well you did learn from the best after all" Kakashi ended his sentence with a small and appreciating smile, he was happy that Naruto had passed on his valuable knowledge to others.

After the groups short discussion Kakashi sent the team away and told them to prepare for the upcoming missions they would be going on. Sasuke and Sakura seemed fairly enthusiastic about this but Naruto knew full well that the first missions his team would be taking would be the bottom of the barrel ones. Their missions would be things like weeding gardens, catching cats, collecting groceries - that sort of thing, nothing that Naruto thought an actual Ninja should be doing. His view was that good talent shouldn't be put to waste, though Naruto also thought that Sakura and Sasuke didn't really have much talent so it worked out somewhat for them.

**Author's note: Just so you know, I'm not planning to write any of the missions. Will explain more next chapter.**


End file.
